Background A biobank is a structure which collects and manages biological samples and their associated data. The collected samples will then be made available for various uses. The sharing of those samples raised ethical questions which have been answered through specific rules. Thus, a Biobank functioning under tight ethical rules would be immensely valuable from a scientific and an economic view point. In 2009, Côte d’Ivoire established a biobank, which has been chosen to house the regional biobank of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries in 2018. To ensure optimal and efficient use of this biobank, the scientific community must be aware of its existence and its role. It was therefore necessary to evaluate the knowledge of laboratories staff on the role and activities of a biobank. Methods This descriptive study was done by questioning staff from laboratories working on human’s health, animals or plants. The laboratories were located in southern Côte d’Ivoire. Results A total of 205 people completed the questionnaire. Of these 205 people, 34.63% were biologists, 7.32% engineers, 48.78% technicians and 9.27% PhD students. The average length of work experience was 10.11 ± 7.83 years. In this study, 43.41% of the participants had never heard of biobanking. Only 48.78% of participants had a good understanding of the role of a biobank. Technicians and PhD students were less educated on the notion of biobank (p < 0.000001). Although biologists were more educated on this issue, 21.13% of them had a misconception of biobank. Good knowledge of the role of a biobank was not significantly related to the work experience’s length (p > 0.88). Conclusion The level of knowledge of laboratory staff about biobanking needs to be improved. Training on the role, activities and interests of the biobank is important.

Lassa fever has not been reported in Côte d’Ivoire. We performed a retrospective analysis of human serum samples collected in Côte d’Ivoire in the dry seasons (January–April) during 2015–2018. We identified a fatal human case of Lassa fever in the Bangolo District of western Côte d’Ivoire during 2015.

Background: A biobank is a structure which collects and manages biological samples and their associated data. The collected samples will then be made available for various uses. The sharing of those samples raised ethical questions which have been answered through specific rules. Thus, a Biobank functioning under tight ethical rules would be immensely valuable from a scientific and an economic view point. In 2009, Côte d'Ivoire established a biobank, which has been chosen to house the regional biobank of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries in 2018. To ensure optimal and efficient use of this biobank, the scientific community must be aware of its existence and its role. It was therefore necessary to evaluate the knowledge of laboratories staff on the role and activities of a biobank.Methods: This descriptive study was done by questioning staff from laboratories working on human’s health, animals or plants. The laboratories were located in southern Côte d'Ivoire. Results: A total of 205 people completed the questionnaire. Of these 205 people, 34.63% were biologists, 7.32% engineers, 48.78% technicians and 9.27% PhD students. The average length of work experience was 10.11 ± 7.83 years. In this study, 43.41% of the participants had never heard of biobanking. Only 48.78% of participants had a good understanding of the role of a biobank. Technicians and PhD students were less educated on the notion of biobank (p<0.000001). Although biologists were more educated on this issue, 21.13% of them had a misconception of biobank. Good knowledge of the role of a biobank was not significantly related to the work experience’s length (p>0.88). Conclusion: The level of knowledge of laboratory staff about biobanking needs to be improved. Training on the role, activities and interests of the biobank is important.

The preservation and use of biological samples for therapy, diagnosis and research have been common practice for a long time. To maintain the stability of biomolecules (DNA, RNA, proteins) contained in the samples stored at the biobank of Pasteur Institute of Côte d'Ivoire, we evaluated the quality of the conservation of influenza nasopharyngeal and meningococcal CSF samples. Two (2) samples were chosen for this evaluation, namely Influenza A nasopharyngeal samples and Streptococcus pneumoniae CSF samples. After a few years of storage, these same samples were used to perform a PCR test. The results of the PCR tests showed a discordance of 36.4% for the Streptococcus pneumoniae CSF samples compared to 15.4% for the nasophryngeal samples. This study validates the need to write procedures for sample conservation at the level of the analysis laboratories and the Biobank. Therefore, a reflection must be carried out to standardise conservation techniques and a sample conservation evaluation programme.

Background: The biobank is a structure that manages and makes available biological resources. The biobank has medical, scientific and economic interests in an ethical manner. In 2009, Côte d'Ivoire established a biobank, which has housed the regional biobank of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries since 2018. To ensure optimal and efficient use of this biobank, scientific stakeholders must be aware of its existence and role. It was therefore necessary to assess the knowledge of laboratory staff on the role and activities of a biobank.Methods: This is a descriptive study conducted with staff of human, animal and plant health laboratories located in southern Côte d'Ivoire. Results: A total of 205 people agreed to complete the proposed questionnaire. Of these, 34.63% are biologists, 7.32% engineers, 48.78% technicians and 9.27% PhD students. The average professional experience was 10.11 ± 7.83 years. Respectively, 47.32% and 43.41% have never heard of biocollection and biobank. Only 48.78% of participants had a good understanding of the role of a biobank. Technicians and PhD students were less educated on the notion of biobank (p<0.000001). Biologists, although they were more educated on this issue, 21.13% of them had a misconception of biobank. Good knowledge of the role of a biobank was not significantly related to the duration of professional experience (p>0.88). Conclusion: The level of knowledge of laboratory staff about biobanking remains to be improved. Training on the role, activities and interests of the biobank is important.

Backgound The biobank is a structure that manages and makes available biological resources. The biobank has medical, scientific and economic interests in an ethical manner. In 2009, Côte d'Ivoire established a biobank, which has housed the regional biobank of ECOWAS countries since 2018. To ensure optimal and efficient use of this biobank, scientific stakeholders must be aware of its existence and role. It was therefore necessary to assess the knowledge of laboratory staff on the role and activities of a biobank. Methods This is a descriptive study conducted with staff of human, animal and plant health laboratories located in southern Côte d'Ivoire. Results A total of 205 people agreed to complete the proposed questionnaire. Of these, 34.63% are biologists, 7.32% engineers, 48.78% technicians and 9.27% phD students. The average professional experience was 10.11 ± 7.83 years. Respectively, 47.32% and 43.41% have never heard of biocollection and biobank. Only 48.78% of participants had a good understanding of the role of a biobank. Technicians and phD students were less educated on the notion of biobank (p<0.000001). Biologists, although they were more educated on this issue, 21.13% of them had a misconception of biobank. Good knowledge of the role of a biobank was not significantly related to the duration of professional experience (p>0.88). Conclusion The level of knowledge of laboratory staff about biobanking remains to be improved. Training on the role, activities and interests of the biobank is important.

Background : Since 2009, Côte d'Ivoire has had a biobank, which now houses the ECOWAS regional biobank. This biobank intends to set up a biological tissue bank for research. In Côte d'Ivoire, several public and private structures handle biological tissues. However, we do not know which ones are involved in the conservation of biological tissues and their related procedures. To ensure optimal conservation of biological tissues at the biobank of Côte d'Ivoire, it is necessary to conduct a study on the state of the art of tissue preservation in Côte d'Ivoire. The objective of our work is to know the attitudes and practices of biological tissue preservation in Côte d'Ivoire.Methods : This is a descriptive study carried out in biological analysis laboratories in the south of the Ivory Coast.Results : A total of 66 laboratories agreed to answer the questionnaire that was proposed to them. Among them, only 21.21% kept biological tissues, of which 42.86% were human tissues, 35.71% animal tissues and 21.43% plant tissues. Human tissuesz were stored in formalin at room temperature for a period ranging from 2 weeks to 6 months. Animal biopsies and surgical specimens were stored in formalin and at -80°C for an indefinite period of time. Plant tissues were stored at room temperature and +4°C for an indefinite period of time.Conclusion : The conservation quality of biological tissues still needs to be improved.